Welcome! Mason Core classes are all about setting you up for academic success. With them, you will build a base of skills and knowledge -- a base that will support you as you complete the requirements for your own course of study, and serve you for years after you leave your formal education behind.
Earning a BA degree from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences? The college's requirements for BA students, described below, will furnish you with tools to navigate the complexities of our global society.
Catalogs from different years may contain different requirements. Students must graduate under the requirements published in one single catalog. Students have to have the same catalog year for all components of their degrees—the requirements for Mason Core, for college requirements, and for the requirements of their major and concentration, if any.
Students should be aware of their catalog year when planning their course of study. For questions about which catalog year applies, see an advisor.
See the pages in the Mason Core Requirements Archive below for earlier catalog years.
Under some circumstances, students may use a single course to fulfill a Mason Core requirement and a college requirement or a requirement for the major. See your academic advisor for more information.
Students receiving a BA degree have the following additional requirements.
Under some circumstances, students may use a single course to fulfill more than one college-level requirement. It is also possible under some circumstances to use a single course to fulfill a Mason Core requirement and a college requirement or a requirement for the major. See an academic advisor for more information.
George Mason University has Guaranteed Admission Agreements with certain Virginia community colleges. Transfer students who are offered GAA admission and meet all of the terms of the GAA agreement with their Virginia community college may be eligible for a waiver of George Mason University's lower level Mason Core requirements. GAA students who receive the waiver are still required by the university to complete English 302 and a synthesis course. GAA students who receive the waiver and are pursuing a degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences are considered to have met all college requirements except for proficiency in a foreign language (required of BA students).